SEARCA in the News

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has opened nominations for the Outstanding SEARCA Scholarship Alumni (OSSA) 2026 award. The program recognizes SEARCA scholarship alumni who completed their master's or doctoral degrees and have made significant contributions to sustainable agricultural and rural development (ARD) in Southeast Asia. The OSSA 2026 award highlights the achievements of individuals who exemplify SEARCA's core values and philosophy in their professional fields. The award seeks to honor leaders and innovators who emerged from SEARCA's long-standing “Golden Harvest" of scholars. Nominees will be recognized in teaching… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd), recently conducted a consultation workshop to finalize a unified monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tool for the Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (GPP) and the School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement and Enterprise (SHGBEE) Program. The workshop was held on 11–12 November 2025 in Los Baños, Laguna. The M&E tool is a key step in strengthening nationwide efforts to promote food security, nutrition education, and sustainable livelihoods through integrated school and home gardening. Developed collaboratively by SEARCA, DepEd… Read more

The Central Luzon State University (CLSU), through its International Affairs Office (IAO), in collaboration with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC), formally opened the International Summer Short-term Program (ISSP) 2025 on Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability yesterday, November 17, 2025. Now in its fifth year, the joint program highlights key sustainability areas, including crop biotechnology, mushroom pharming, and precision and digital agriculture. As an affiliate member of the University Consortium, CLSU continues to advance mutually beneficial partnerships by maximizing… Read more

Rice serves as the essential sustenance for the Philippines, nourishing more than 115 million Filipinos and supporting countless smallholder farmers. But planting rice is never fun, so goes a line from a familiar folk song. Still, a lot of Filipino farmers continued to grow rice. Statistics indicate that there are 2.9 million Filipinos involved in rice farming and related activities within the country. Rice cultivation occurs over approximately 4.8 million hectares, of which 3.28 million hectares are irrigated, while the remaining 1.51 million hectares consist of non-irrigated areas, including rainfed and upland regions, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. The… Read more

As North India continues to grapple with winter smog, mainly attributed to stubble burning, a breakthrough in rice farming technology offers a potential solution. Straw Traktor, a machine developed by London-headquartered agritech company Straw Innovations, turns leftover paddy straw into biochar and renewable energy, improves soil health, and even opens the possibility of a third rice harvest each year. The company plans to bring the technology to India next year through a partnership with Innovate UK, UKAid and Earthshot Prize winner, Takachar, a Delhi-based clean-tech start-up. The announcement comes at a time when India, the world's second-largest rice producer, is… Read more

A COLLABORATIVE initiative by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Villgro Philippines has empowered three gender-inclusive agri-enterprises across Southeast Asia to scale up climate-resilient business models and unlock critical investment opportunities. Called the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Enhancement (SAFE) Acceleration Program, the initiative was launched earlier this year offering mentorship, market validation and investment readiness support for early-stage agricultural enterprises. Participants underwent diagnostic panels, interactive learning labs, masterclasses, and peer exchanges, which culminate in 36 hours of personalized mentoring from 16 experts and trainers for more than a four-month journey. Spotlighting… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Nagoya University (NU) officially signed a memorandum of agreement on 13 October 2025 to establish the Nagoya University-SEARCA Joint Transnational PhD Scholarship for Philippine Nationals. The formal signing reaffirmed the two institutions' enduring partnership, which traces its roots back to 1986. Tailored for working professionals in engineering, agriculture, international development, and environmental studies, the transnational PhD scholarship program enables participants to earn their doctorates without leaving their current employment or home countries. The innovative initiative blends face-to-face supervision with online engagement and… Read more

THE Philippines generates annually least 13 million tons of dayami (rice straw), a valuable biomass resource that can be converted into soil amendments, food or feed inputs and bioenergy. To translate this potential into socioeconomic opportunities while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the pioneering Dayami Hub concept was introduced by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) during the Agrifuture Conference and Exhibition 2025 on Sept. 23-24. Lichelle Dara Carlos, SEARCA's Emerging Innovation for Growth Department program specialist, presented the Dayami Hub as a national strategy to address rice straw burning, mitigate GHG emissions… Read more

TO drive innovation and regulatory responsiveness in agricultural biotechnology, a high-level forum was organized on Bridging Biotechnology Innovation and Regulations: Orientation on Microbial-based Product Development and Commercialization in the Academic Setting at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in Los Baños, Laguna. The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Biotech) co-organized the said event on Sept. 18, 2025, which brought together 58 agri-biotech stakeholders from academic institutions, government regulatory bodies, and the private sector. They discussed practical solutions for streamlining the approval and registration of… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) marked a defining milestone as it hosted the 73rd Governing Board Meeting (GBM) on 29–30 September 2025 at its headquarters at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) campus. A highlight of the meeting was the formal endorsement and adoption of SEARCA's updated 12th Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP) for FY 2025/2026 to FY 2029/2030. The plan, themed Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems through Innovation in Southeast Asia (SUSTAIN Southeast Asia), represents a strategic shift towards acceleration in regional agricultural development, positioning SEARCA as a… Read more